Punch hole vs notches - is it really better?

First it was taller screens, then notches and now we have a new trend punch holes as the next stepping stone before all screen front panels become a reality. But how much of an improvement over waterdrop notches are they and is it worth holding your breath for? We did the math to find out. We compared the display real estate that punch hole cameras use as well as the total amount of screen space wasted. You see while the punch hole is circular it means that no UI elements can be displayed in the corner of the screen that it occupies. In much the same way phones with notches don't...

Read More

Weekly poll results: vivo NEX Dual Display is a cool phone

This was a contentious vote, but ultimately the vivo NEX Dual Display walked away with a positive mark in last week's poll. It was close, though. It's clear that having a second display is a cool feature, though not everyone is convinced it's worth it. Right now its best feature is that it enables a great selfie camera while keeping the main display notch-free. For some, the coolness factor is worth the extra cost of a second AMOLED panel. More practically-minded people did not agree and were concerned about the second display having an impact on battery life (it won't as we found out...

Read More

Apple's "shot on iPhone" film likely isn't

Apple's recent short movie "The Bucket" is said to be shot entirely on the iPhone XS but a closer inspection makes us rather suspicious if that's really the case. The end credits state that additional hardware and software was used, but some of the footage is so far from what a smartphone can do that either the accessorizing is taking to an extent where the actual camera used doesn't matter at all or there's more to it. First and foremost, we'd like to point out that we are not bashing the iPhone XS camera, which is very competent for a smartphone. However, we have an issue with...

Read More

iOS 12.2 features hints of upcoming iPad models, new iPod touch

Apple has experimented a fair bit with the iPad line over the years, culminating with the new design and powerful internals on the pair of 2018 Pro models - iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) and iPad Pro 11. However, Apple's official store still carries the older iPad Pro 10.5 (2017) as well as the iPad 9.7 (2018), with a slightly older chipset and a lower price tag. Weirdly still, there is also an iPad Mini 4 still in official sales and circulation, dating all the way back to 2015, with even older internals. Now, as per a few references, discovered by a known iOS tinkerer inside Apple's latest iOS...

Read More

Save the date: Google I/O 2019 schedule and venue are official

The scarce, but still exciting details come from Sundar Pichai himself. He recently took to Twitter to drop the May 7 to May 9 time frame, along with a familiar location - Shoreline Amphitheatre. The Mountain View, California spot has been the venue of choice of Google I/O last three years in a row, making it pretty easily deducible info overall. Glad the transmission was received:) See you at Shoreline Amphitheatre May 7-9 for this year's I/O! #io19 pic.twitter.com/CXWpQR4Eza— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) January 25, 2019 What is infinitely harder to work out or simply guess,...

Read More

Nokia MWC event teasers showcase a mysterious punch hole selfie phone, along with the Nokia 9

Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer at HMD Global, already made it clear that Nokia will be attending this year's Mobile World Congress. The date is set for February 24 and apparently, the company is also planning a public stream, so anybody interested can tune into. Neat! Although we do kind of wish the announcement came in a more formal or at least less "cringy" format than the "really really" meme Sarvikas posted on Twitter. We really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really ...

Read More

More Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 carnage: watch it crush and get crushed by fruit

In case you are not in the loop on Xiaomi's latest escapades, these are very much focused on the recently-released Redmi Note 7 handset. In keeping with tradition, it is an affordable ($150 or so) phone, packing-in quite a bit of value, with specs like a large 6.3-inch LCD, hefty 4,000 mAh battery and a 48MP Quad-bayer main camera. But non of that is why you are here or the reason behind sub-brand CEO Lu Weibing's ongoing ad campaign for the phone. The latter is clearly focused on showcasing the durability of the product. We've already seen the Redmi Note 7 smashing walnuts, rolling down...

Read More

Nokia 1 Plus leaks online with renders and an entry-level specs sheet

With MWC right around the corner and Nokia's presence at the event already confirmed everybody is understandably looking at HMD Global with high expectations regarding the long-elusive and eagerly-anticipated Nokia 9. However, that might not be the only new phone the Nokia teams brings to the convention floor. Industry insider sources have dug-up some interesting info on an upcoming entry-level device. It's a successor to the 2008 Nokia 1, which will likely be called the Nokia 1 Plus. In keeping with its mostly neat numbering scheme, it is clear that the Nokia 1 Plus will be the...

Read More